Sara Roth

With its broad expanse of sagebrush and Alfalfa farms, the Terrebonne area may not scream wine country, but with a burgeoning group of wineries, it is quickly becoming a winemaking hotspot.
What began with Maragas Winery in the late ‘90s now includes Monkey Face Vineyards, Deschutes River Vineyards, and the latest addition to the family—Faith, Hope, and Charity Vineyard, which opened last year. All of wineries offer exciting alternatives to the fruit-forward pinots cranked out by the wineries in the Willamette Valley and offer a chance for Central Oregon to make its mark on the state’s robust wine making industry.

Lately, I can't stop watching Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel. It's almost like watching a nature show in which the rare animal, baldus rotundous, eats everything that breathes.

Deschutes Brewery has developed a well-deserved reputation not only for its beers, but also for its classic, well-executed pub food. But a few times a year, Deschutes offers a dining experience at the brewery's Mountain Room that goes beyond burgers and IPAs. The most indulgent of these events, the Chocolate Beer Dinner, sounds like a grown kid's ultimate fantasy.
For four years running, Deschutes has offered a prix-fixe dinner, featuring chocolate as an ingredient in every course. The chefs pair the dishes with specialty brews from the Deschutes Brewery and Public House. In the past, the Chocolate Beer Dinner has played to sweet tooths. Last year, for example, the dinner featured white chocolate cream ale and sugar-rimmed glasses.

Michael Murphy's take on a Japanese “Izakaya” restaurant isn't what you'd expect from a chef who is collaborating with Justin Cook, the owner of Bend's popular westside sushi house Kanpai. Murphy and Cook opened Boken last month in the former home of The Downtowner just off Mirror Pond Plaza.

Michael Murphy's take on a Japanese “Izakaya” restaurant isn't what you'd expect from a chef who is collaborating with Justin Cook, the owner of Bend's popular westside sushi house Kanpai. Murphy and Cook opened Boken last month in the former home of The Downtowner just off Mirror Pond Plaza. As you might expect, the execution is spot-on, the cocktails are well executed and the ingredients are incredibly fresh. But Boken's menu veers far from what most diners have come to think of as Japanese food.
Instead of sushi and tempura vegetables, Boken serves small yet substantial plates of exotic fare. And instead of a cocktail list heavy on sweet drinks like Mai Tais, Boken's bar leans heavily on select sakes and whiskeys – the latter of which has become an art-form in Japan, rivaling even Scotland. The menu and spirit list features items near and dear to my heart, like house-made kimchee, pork belly and a plethora of whiskeys, giving me high hopes.